July is here with all its fireworks as we celebrate another birthday for our country. Happy birthday America and may this year be a year where we as a nation turn our hearts back toward God. As you read this newsletter, I will be traveling with Neil Silverburg to Cuba to share with about a hundred pastors and then preach at one of the churches there on Sunday. Please keep us in your prayers that God will have his way while we are there.
Speaking of traveling, I saw my nephew Andrew who came in from Texas recently to celebrate his niece’s birthday. She was turning three. His wife and his son who is just about six months old had to stay home. While we were talking to each other a call came in from his wife in Texas. It appeared that little Hunter, his son, (and by the way don’t you like his name, Hunter?) was having trouble going to sleep. She called Andrew because in times of unrest and anxiety Andrew would sing to his son and his boy would calm down and fall right to sleep. I watched him as they face timed and I saw the interaction of a father who loved his son and had a deep relationship with him; so much so that even though Andrew was many miles away, just the sound of his voice singing to little Hunter gave him comfort. And his father’s voice, like a favorite comforter, caused his eyes to get heavy and his crying to cease as he fell asleep listening to his father sing to him. Zephaniah 3:17 says, “He will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing”. I can only wonder at what love our Heavenly Father has for us as I watched my nephew Andrew singing songs to his son. I wonder how many times our father has sung over us songs of joy, songs of deliverance. Times when we are in the most stress, the most down, if we stop and listen, we can hear our father singing over us songs of joy. Even though our world seems to be self-imploding all around us, he remains faithful and He remains unmoved and boy can our Father sing! At night when I lay awake, stressed out from the day I had and the next day that awaits me, if I quiet my heart, I can hear a voice singing over me and that voice brings me calm and peace so I fall back asleep in the arms of my father.
Listening for His voice,